I’ll admit to a strange fascination with lists — best books, best habits, best anything — not because I believe them to be true, but because they offer such fascinating evidence of how a person or a group of people think about the world. Although, this particular list (at the very end of the article) […]
Archives for January 2009
Circle of life
The current turbulence in the arts (and every other) industry has driven me back to reading about complex ecosystems, how they work, and how they evolve over time. My current inroad is Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World, which Robyn Archer mentioned during her brilliant remarks at the Arts Presenters conference […]
Me, in 20 slides
With the convergence of several social networking systems — like Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube, and the like — the on-line expression of self is taking on new wrinkles and new opportunities. One interesting example that seems to be bubbling up is the bio or personal introduction via slideshow. Rather than a text bio, a downloaded […]
The perverse incentive
My new favorite phrase of the week is ”perverse incentive,” a concept and a construct that seems to suit the arts and culture world in so many ways. The term describes a policy that is intended to promote one outcome, but that instead creates the opposite, or fosters a countervailing negative effect. Some examples from […]
Expression and environment
When we talk about cultural disciplines — dance, theater, fiction, and so on — we tend to speak of them as if they are self-contained. Theater may respond to evolving stage technology and alternative spacers, but it’s still roughly theater in the way we know it. And because significant changes to the environment have tended […]
The sentinal event
One of the key requirements for learning in any complex endeavor is time for focused reflection following action. Looking back on goals, choices, actions, and perceptions, and comparing them to actual outcomes is the one best way to become more effective over time, and to adjust action or strategy that doesn’t deliver. This is what’s […]
Three generations
At the Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference in New York a few weeks back, there were several formal sessions and lots of informal conversation about knowledge sharing between generations. With a good portion of founders and trail-blazers on the cusp of retirement (assuming, of course, that they can afford to retire anymore), and a […]
Caution or conviction?
The big Arts Presenters conference in New York hasn’t yet begun, but I’m already sensing a trend in the conversation — based on the folks I’ve already talked with before it all begins. Obviously, the economy is delivering a gut punch to so many cultural organizations, and the people and organizations that support them. Endowments […]
Off to Arts Presenters
I’m on my way to New York today to attend the annual Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference — some 4000 venue managers, agents, artists, and supporting organizations booking their seasons and connecting with their peers. If you’re wandering around the Hilton New York, give me a wave. I’ll be participating in three panel discussions […]
The newspaper as politburo?
The Guardian posts some interesting thoughts from Clay Shirky on what might happen to traditional media in 2009. In a nutshell, he says, ”2009 is going to be a bloodbath.” While traditional publishing companies and nonprofit cultural organizations are obviously different beasts in many respects, they have eerie similarities as well. Both represent fairly well […]